Ex-Iranian Presidential Aides Sentenced to Jail

TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei and Ali Akbar Javanfekr, two aides of former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, received prison sentences on Wednesday for criminal act against national security.

Head of Tehran Province’s Judiciary Gholam Hossein Esmaili announced on Wednesday that a court has sentenced Rahim Mashaei and Javanfekr to 5 and 4 years in prison, respectively, on charges of conspiracy to commit crimes against the country’s security.

Apart from receiving the 5-year prison term, Rahim Mashaei has been given a one-year prison sentence for propaganda against the Islamic Republic and another six-month sentence for contempt of court, he added.

Rahim Mashaei, former president's chief-of-staff, still faces charges of espionage, Esmaili added, saying the court is going to hear the case and make decisions.

Rahim Mashaei had taken off his prison uniform during trial in the court, and had earlier set fire to a court verdict sentencing Hamid Baghaei, another figure in Ahmadinejad’s trilateral alliance, to imprisonment.